The Loud family were all outside, doing what they most enjoyed doing when a small Uhaul truck pulled up to one of the smaller houses on their street.
"Looks like we're going to be meeting the newest neighbor pretty soon!" exclaimed Lynn Sr.
"Dad, you're not going to make us do all those extracurricular activities again after you meet the new family who moves in are you?" asked Lincoln.
"No son, we've figured out a way to balance your kids' time for that. Besides, there's a chance that this family won't be all overachievers," he told his son. Shortly after the Uhaul truck's driver got out and started to open the back, a van came up from the street. This van caught the attention of the entire family. It had an image of a wizard riding a hippogriff with a castle in the background.
"Ew, that is so tacky!" exclaimed Lola.
"Now Lola, don't be rude, whoever drives that might like it," Rita scolded her daughter.
"Reminds me of a Led Zeppelin album," replied Luna.
"Maybe the driver will wiz out! He he! Get it?" joked Luan. The driver did get out, he was younger than the parents, wearing an "Arrrgh" hat, he stretched his arms out, and they could all see his T-shirt.
"No way! He likes Ace Savvy too!" exclaimed Lincoln.
"Great! Maybe you two can join the geek squad!" said Lynn. The van owner waved to the family.
"Well hey there! Looks like we're going to be neighbors!" he exclaimed before walking over to the Uhaul truck.
"Does he not have a family?" inquired Leni.
"I guess we'll ask him when we meet him and bring him one of my favorite Lynnsagnas!" declared Lynn Sr.
"Could I tag along? I'd love to talk to him about 'Arrgh!' and Ace Savvy!" inquired Lincoln.
"I'd like to come along as well and find out where he got that rockin' ride!" added Luna.
"Well, I guess there's no reason for all of us not to go," suggested Rita.
"Mom, I literally do not want to find myself immersed in all of that stuff Lincoln is into," complained Lori.
"Would you rather be immersed in the total void of the underworld?" offered Lucy.
"Pass," said Lori nervously. Later that day, the family went up to the house of the new neighbor, Luna carrying Lily, Rita rang the doorbell and the new neighbor answered.
"Hey! You're the family from across the street! Looks like I get to meet all of you!" he exclaimed.
"We just wanted to drop off one of my famous 'Lynnsagnas' as our way of saying welcome to the neighborhood! Also, my kids wanted to meet you because they thought your van was cool. But I understand, you've probably got a lot of unpacking to do," replied Lynn.
"Oh yes, I've got a significant amount of unpacking to do, but I can spare some time to meet the new neighbors, I'll just put that in the fridge for later, thanks very much! Please come in!" he replied. Indeed, there were a decent number of boxes laying all over the floor and posters leaned up against the wall, waiting to be hung. The furniture had to have come from a thrift shop at some point. When their new neighbor returned from the kitchen, he was still beaming.
"I didn't get a chance to introduce myself. My name is Vincent Owens. My friends call me Vinny. But I understand if the kids want to call me Mr. Owens. He shook hands with each of the family members as they introduced themselves, Lisa noticed he had a band-aid on his right index finger.
"Oh yes, bit of a nasty accident while unpacking knives, gotta make sure they're all facing the same way!" Vinny replied. He then allowed Lily to grab his pointer finger.
"That little one has a strong grip!" he laughed. Luna then noticed something about one of his posters.
"You like the Who?" she asked, pointing at it.
"Who?" asked Leni.
"That's the band name, and yes I do," he replied.
"What's the name of the band?" asked Leni, confused as always.
"Who is the name of the band!" said Luna angrily.
"But that's what I'm asking!" replied Leni. Vinny rushed over to grab the poster and brought it right up to Leni's face.
"Okay, before we turn this into an Abbot and Costello routine, this is literally the band name, what you're reading on the poster," he said, trying very hard not to sound angry.
"Oh, hey what's with all the writing on it?" asked Leni.
"I got the signed poster at one of their concerts," exclaimed Vinny proudly. Luna's eyes went wide with interest as she stepped over to get a better look at the poster, she pointed at Vinny, and as if there was some kind of power guiding them, they started singing together.
Well since I was a young boy
I played the silver ball
From Soho down to Brighton
I must have played them all
But I ain't seen nothing like him
In any amusement hall
That deaf, dumb, blind kid
Sure plays a mean pinball!
The two of them fist-bumped each other as Vinny set his poster back down. Lincoln then noticed a poster that had his interest.
"You're into King of the Rings as well!" he exclaimed.
"You bet I am. I have the extended edition with all the bonus features, a book that details the untold stories about the making of the movie, and I've even met some of the cast members, I'll show you the autographs and photos sometime!" Vinny exclaimed proudly. Lana went over to what she thought was an empty bookcase, but instead found a tank with:
"Oh cool! You've got a bearded dragon!" she exclaimed. Vinny walked over, and looked at the tank she was examining.
"Yup, would you like to hold him, his name's Charles," offered Vinny.
"Our dog's name is Charles! And yes, I would!" Vinny took the lizard out of his tank and carefully handed him to Lana, who gently petted the creature down the back.
"She handles icky creature all the time, this is easy for her," said Lola.
"Lola, don't call Mr. Owens' lizard icky, it's not polite," Rita scolded her daughter.
"Oh, that's alright, some people just don't have the proper appreciation for reptiles, they require a special kind of love," said Vinny holding his hand up.
"Kind of like vampires," said a voice that caused poor Vinny to jump out of his skin, he turned around to see Lucy.
"Well you're a slippery individual, aren't you? Y'know, you look like someone who might enjoy something I have," said Vinny, reaching into a box labeled 'BOOKS.'
"Well, what do you know, first try and there it is!" he said as he pulled out a book that was entitled 'V is for Vampire.'
"Has all these amazing facts about the history of vampires in film, novels and culture. Maybe you'd like to borrow it?" he offered to Lucy. She just smiled, nodded and accepted the book.
"So, what do you do for a living? If you don't mind me asking?" Lynn Sr. asked.
"I'm a radio disc jockey. Got myself a sweet gig at the local station, and well, I pulled up root and moved here," he answered proudly.
"Do you have any family?" asked Lori. Here Vinny looked puzzled.
"Do you mean family as in a wife and kids? No. Although, I have my parents, and my two older brothers who have their own families," he replied, scratching his goatee.
"Well that's fun! You're an uncle!" exclaimed Rita happily.
"What was it like, growing up with two older brothers?" Lincoln asked, everyone seemed taken aback, especially because Lincoln actually sounded nervous when he said that.
"They were my heroes growing up! I looked up to them, in fact, a lot of the stuff I'm into right now, I actually owe to the fact that they introduced it to me in the first place," said Vinny happily.
"So, are you, with the obvious exception of your brother's children, the baby of the family?" asked Lori. Once again, Vinny seemed to take a moment to find the right words for that question.
"Well, I can honestly say I am the youngest brother," he replied. Everyone nodded in content.
"Where'd you get the van?" asked Luan.
"Oh, I bought that at a charity auction, thought it looked cool, I daresay I got a sweet deal on that ride, but don't you go falling in love with it now," answered Vinny. He then noticed Luan's braces.
"I remember when I had braces, I really missed popcorn for those three years. My orthodontist was overly pleased with how well I took care of them, and I was exceedingly careful with what I ate. This one time at Disney World, my mom thought it's be fun to take us to get caramel apples, but when I pointed out how bad they were for my braces, my dad had to take me next door for ice cream," he said.
"Wow! You really took a bite on that one! That's the tooth!" Get it?" Luan laughed.
"That pun never gets old! Put'er there!" he said as he shook Luan's hand, only for Luan to find out her hand was getting buzzed!
"The hand buzzer! Another classic that never gets old!" he laughed.
"Well, I think we've taken enough of your time, c'mon kids, I think we should let Mr. Owens finish his unpacking. You can talk to him another time," said Rita as she led everybody out. Lana making sure to return Charles the bearded dragon.
"He seems like a nice guy, I think we might get along with him," said Leni as they left.
"But the way he said he was the youngest brother, oh never mind, I'm probably trying to read too much into nothing!" said Lori.
